Sunday, December 30, 2007

1) CHUCK DIXON: 2007 was Chuck Dixon’s triumphant return to the Batman Universe, becoming the go-to guy for Batman and the Outsiders after a sudden writer change, as well as the announced return to Robin in 2008. Maybe it was the action-packed intensity of Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood that made this veteran too hard for DC editors to ignore.

Dixon also got the comic blogs roiling when he took on the Grifter and Midnighter mini-series for Wildstorm. After all, the buzzers buzzed, how could the conservative Dixon possibly portray a gay character (Midnighter) fairly?!? Dixon was also at the helm when DC teamed with Pontiac for Rush City, a high-octane mini in which a freelance finder-of-lost-persons screams through panels in his tricked-out Solstice. Tack on a run of horror in Nightmare on Elm Street and forays of humor in various Simpsons comics, the resume for this master of genre spills out of the filing cabinet.

2) CAPTAIN AMERICA: This year was the media-blitzed Death of Captain America which made Captain America #25 the best-selling comic of the year. Ignored in all of the hype was how well writer Ed Brubaker set up the murder in the preceding months to make it less of an “event” and more of a logical story climax. It is also Brubaker, with the one-two art punch of Steve Epting and Mike Perkins, who has made the Cap-less ‘Captain America’ one of the best regular reads for eight months, built on his own storycraft and his strengthening of Cap’s supporting cast.

) JOE KUBERT: This comics master’s major project of last year, Sgt. Rock: the Prophecy made it to softcover this year. Writing as well as drawing his most lasting creation, Kubert creates a Jewish fable, as he has in much of his recent work. His art seems effortless, not softened at all by advanced age, carrying an intangible wisdom.

Also released this year was Showcase Presents: The War That Time Forgot, 560 pages of American Joes fighting dinosaurs in WWII, coming upon them in heretofore uncharted Pacific islands. Kubert got the T-Rex egg rolling with the initial stories, but the bulk of them are by an underrated Ross Andru. Robert Kanigher supplies all of the writing, though the stories soon get repetitive, with the same types of dinosaurs appearing in nearly every story, and one case of back-to-back stories that have the exact same plot.

Kubert shined moreso on another reprint collection, howcase Presents: Hawkman vol.1, which presents the early stories of the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl. While the bulk of the stories are also by another artist (in this case Murphy Anderson), it was Kubert who laid the foundation for the look of the series and it’s continual cast of bizarre villains. Other than Rock, Kubert is probably most associated with his Hawkman work.

4) CONAN: Dark Horse made a smart move with the departure of fan-favorite writer Kurt Busiek by keeping series artist Cary Nord. I thought about jumping ship when writer Tim Truman came on board (nothing against Truman, but sometimes it’s cheaper to not know what you’re missing), but Nord kept a certain continuity. Truman, also, served the series by making no radical changes, with the transition being somewhat seamless. Busiek wasn’t totally gone, either, finishing his tales of a younger Conan later in the year. If you enjoy well-told adventure stories, this is still a solid read. This continues to be a high-quality series that is not tied to trends, events or other books. But it’s not stunt-free. Next year when this series hits issue 50, Dark Horse is going to restart it with issue #1.

5) ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #18: If I didn’t know who Chris Ware was, after reading this I’d think he was a one-legged woman in her ‘30s with low self-esteem and a bludgeoned personal and professional life. That is a testament to how Ware captures his protagonist and introduces ideas and thoughts so personal, you’d swear they must be autobiographical. Her internal handicaps run so deep, I sometimes forgot she was missing a leg. It makes me want to keep my internal monologue quiet, for fear that Ware, or one like him, would capture it and put it in book form.

6) COMPLETE PEANUTS 1963-1966: The Book Description on Amazon lays it out as well as anybody. The 1963-64 book has 150 never-before reprinted strips, which is monumental when you consider that ‘Peanuts’ is the most reprinted comic strip ever. The 1965-66 book pits Snoopy against the Red Baron, launches Snoopy’s continually rejected writing career and introduces Peppermint Patty. The entire series is essential, but don’t miss out on the era that was a career high for Charles Schulz.

7) HELLBOY: DARKNESS CALLS Hellboy finds himself the pawn of witches who want to make him their king. At the same time, his old enemy Baba Yaga has unleashed a warrior who cannot be killed to bring her the head of Hellboy. At the same time, a talking hog and his cronies endeavor to dig up a long-buried crate which houses the remains of the Queen of Witches. A lot to chew on, as always, with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola writing the script, but handing over the art chores to a well-equipped Duncan Fegredo. This caused a critical stir, but didn’t bother me a whit.

8) BETTIE PAGE RULES!: Well, it's not really a comic, but I did get it in a comics shop, and the rules here on the list are pretty lax. Plus, it's got some beautiful illustrations by Jim Silke, so it's an art book in any event. Silke not only celebrates '50s uber pin-up Bettie Page here, he gives us a fascinating pictorial play-by-play of the proliferation of men's magazines after WWII. He also delves into the changing movie scene of the time, with Europe introducing more nudity. This is adults-only fare, but with a historical bent. Like Playboy, it's a thinking man's nudity (yeah, the wife might buy into that).

9) TRAPDANCING: THE AYM GERONIMO COLLECTION: Ok, truth time. I've read the individual stories but not the collection as I just got it from my pal, artist Todd Fox, this past weekend. TRAPDANCING collects the short stories that appeared in various anthologies and one-shots by creators Fox and writer J. Morgan Neal. Geronimo and her squad of "Post-Modern Pioneers" are all-purpose adventurers of the world-saving variety. It's not just making the list because Todd's a friend and I know having his work collected is a long-time dream of his comics career. This is solid stuff by guys whose love of comics is evident in what they bring to the reader. This book is not available in stores but can be ordered via the link.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Every year I sing "The Christmas Ham" on ICN6, a local origination station for Insight Cable subscribers in Northern Kentucky. This was my 6th or 7th time doing it. The host is well-known Cincinnati TV personality Nancy James.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The pairing of Alison Krauss and Robert Plant immediately seemed like a cool idea to me. Throw producer T-Bone Burnett into the mix, and you've got a must-have album. I originally picked this up for my wife, Jill, who's a big Alison Krauss fan, but later commandeered it for my own evil review purposes.

Krauss and Plant make a convincing duet couple, whether the music is ethereal or a bouncing honky-tonk. Their harmonizing on "Killing the Blues" is the closest I've come to a religious musical experience in awhile. This is solid ground for Krauss, with some of the music echoing her work with Burnett on the 'Cold Mountain' soundtrack. Plant is the one off the reservation, but sounds right at home in this world that has a roots country flavor. Of course, he proved himself an adaptable singer long ago. Krauss is not without surprises herself, channeling Dolly Parton on "Let Your Loss Be Your Lesson" and playing the male role on that song as well as "Through the Morning".

T-Bone Burnett can do no wrong. High off a decade of successes like 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?', 'Cold Mountain', and 'Walk the Line', he evokes memories of those earlier projects through his production and inventive instrumentation. But it's Krauss and Plant who are center stage here, carrying the listener with them on their vocal journey.

To make this list I just looked at the new stuff I bought in 2007 and thought, "What 5 do I want to hear?" 'Memory Almost Full' falls short of 2005's 'Chaos & Creation', but it's still a well-crafted album with plenty to enjoy. Few do symphonic-tinged pop like Macca, and "Feet in the Clouds" is the highlight of the set. Other choice nuggets are the powerful thrum of "House of Wax" and the story of the determinedly suicidal "Mr. Bellamy". The rest is a solid listen, except for the indulgent screecher, "Nod Your Head", that closes the album.

Not many of us get to write our own epitaph, but McCartney does in "The End Of The End". It's his message to those who'll mourn him after he's gone - don't be sad when I die because this life was great. It's no career coda, though, as it's clear that this music legend, even at 65, has more music coming our way.

The best show on TV in 2007 is one of the best albums of 2007, well, ok, it's a 5-song EP. But, you can download plenty of Flight of the Conchords other stuff off of the web and make your own albums. "Business Time" stars a clueless boyfriend in a groove reminiscent of Beck circa 'Midnite Vultures'. "What Your Into" is another boyfriend, this time a guy who rides the dichotomy of being sexually tentative and overly forward. "I'm Not Crying" is a parody of an overwrought '70s ballad, with choice lines like "How come we've reached this fork in the road yet it cuts like a knife." Then we meet "The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room", who's so hot she "could be a part-time model". "Robots" is their tour-de-force, an epic tale told from the point of view of the robots in the distant future after they've killed all of the humans - "We used poisonous gases and we poisoned their asses." I have seen the future of novelty music, and it's name is Flight of the Conchords...if the robots don't kill us all.

I wrote a review that I was somewhat proud of for this disc, but my computer ate it somehow. I was pretty depressed about losing it, actually. So, here's a link to the Rolling Stone review. The reviewer said some of what I wanted to get across, but I had less sermonizing. It's tough to be a Republican and like Bruce Springsteen. Rolling Stone doesn't have to worry about that.

I lost this one, too. Here's a review from the BBC. This reviewer had a different take on the album because he hasn't seen the movie. I think if you juxtapose it with the movie, you have a better understanding of it thematically. We both agree it's another great collection from this aged but unbowed singer-songwriter.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

A LOCK of John’s hair was the highlight of a recent UK auction. The hair was given to hairdresser Betty Glasgow in 1965, who worked with the moptops on ‘Help!’. Given by Lennon with a copy of his book, he inscribed it “To Betty – lots of love and hair”

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The Cartoon Research Library at the Ohio State University is hosting RARITIES: Unusual Works from the Caniff Collection through January 19th. I visited this exhibit in October, along with 'Milton Caniff: American Master + School of Caniff', which was shown in OSU's Hopkins Hall Gallery + Corridor from October 8-28th. A generous amount of pictures from the Hopkins Hall show can be seen here. I regret now that I didn't take any notes or pictures (which I don't think are allowed) for the Rarities exhibit. The items that stick out in my mind are the watercolor (shown on the link), illustrated letters that Caniff wrote to his wife, Bunny, and a cartoon by Jules Feiffer.

The Feiffer cartoon is interesting because it's a direct response to a Vietnam-era 'Steve Canyon' strip in which Canyon is trying to corral a large group of war protesters at his military base. Canyon espouses the belief that it's every Americans right to protest, just so long as he can prove U.S. citizenship! Feiffer, although an admirer, lampoons the idea. The inclusion of the Feiffer cartoon tied the two shows together, with the 'Canyon' Sunday in question being part of the Hopkins Hall show.

Of course the thrill for me was seeing all of the original art...more Caniff originals than I'd ever seen before at one time. I lost track of how long I spent walking around the exhibit, leaving it, and then walking back in again. It was a real treat to see how Caniff made a correction, or drew webbing around Happy and Steve.The "School of Caniff" exhibit was a nice idea, showcasing Caniff's many artistic artistic progeny, such as one time assistant Ray Bailey and Johnny Hazard's Frank Robbins.

Another treat at the show were the showcases full of mint condition Steve Canyon toys. When the Canyon TV show debuted in the late '50s, there was plenty of merchandising to kids. Here's something I've lusted for in my heart, a complete, unused edition of the board game.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

The Ohio Historical Society has an exhibit on Milton Caniff at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus. Spotlight on Milton Caniff runs through March 2nd. I was able to see it as part of my "Caniff Day" back in October.

The exhibit does not concentrate on his art, but rather on artifacts from his life and some of his tools of the trade, displayed in a series of showcases. I found this collection of weapons, which Caniff used for reference, to be of particular interest. He was a stickler for detail, and so were his devoted readers. Weapons, uniforms, and military equipment all had to be right because part of the realism of the strip hinged on Caniff's accuracy.

Center stage at the exhibit is a continuous slideshow that uses blow-up panels, along with limited animation, from a biographical strip by Caniff to tell his story as he did, in brief. To coincide with the exhibit, a Caniff cover story highlights their quarterly magazine, TIMELINE. The magazine article is by Lucy Shelton Caswell, friend of Caniff and curator of the Cartoon Research Library, which I'll write about next time.

If Caniff's not your thing, you can always visit the other museum exhibits, such as the mammoth skeleton or the two-headed calf.